March 2023 – Sidney Gibb

Conversations about race, ethnicity, religion, identity and gender can start at early ages, these ideas are powerful however its importance should not lead to us shying away from them.

This short two-minute clip addresses the concept of racism through a critical but easy and reflective lens. Short films and examples like this video provides an active experience for children, gaining their attention in a way that they can comprehend. While this video teaches kids on the importance of prating anti-racist behaviour, it also inspires them to continue with education. In this way the film inherently informs the audience that education and libraries are spaces for fun and activity.

Because this film would be shown to kids from Kindergarten to grade 3, the hope would be that they talk to others and share their ideas around differences and how this makes us all unique. As this film encourages kids to talk to their parents and peers it actively ignites a sense of passion for discovery.

After watching this film, the class would go on to do an art project creating their own puppets on paper including goggly eyes, fun fabrics and paints which would allow each child to explore their creativity while acknowledging that other puppets may not look like their own and that is okay. This would further develop their interactive skills, promoting their communication, creativity and independence. The technology used would be looking at puppet designs online and watching the video on Youtube (Bates, 2019).

After completion of the project students would be assessed on what they learned and what they thought about their puppet alongside their classmates, this assessment would be done through a conversation between the student and teacher. If the student enjoyed engaging with the materials or made efforts to understand the task this would be a successful demonstration of course materials. The teacher would then send an email to the parents or guardians of the child of a picture of their child’s poppet project in order to create opened dialogue. For open lines of communication and assessment the teacher would hold a zoom call that would act as a forum for the guardians of the child to discuss how the student did and what the child enjoyed about the class. This conversation would be open for the student to add what other types of projects that they would like to do, further removing the experience of isolating tasks (Bates, 2019). This form of engagement and check in over zoom can allow for a sense of community between the guardians and educators focusing on leaner-generated interactions (Bates,2019).

Art projects and class activities are constantly included into Elementary school circulars and applying the lens of anti-racism can act as a tool can remove the trend of “filler” and further establish creativity within expanding their information on racism (Bates,2019). The zoom calls with parent and class activities would be extremely manageable and inspire self direction, as these are things that already occur within our education system. Discussing racism is extremely important especially when most schools and classrooms are built on top of constructs such as settler-colonialism. This project could be produced and called larger into assembly plays, films and activities within the school.

References

Bates, A. W. (T. (2019, October 10). 9.6 interaction. Teaching in a Digital Age Second Edition. Retrieved March 2, 2023, from https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/teachinginadigitalagev2/chapter/pedagogical-roles-for-text-audio-and-video/

What is Racism? (2022). YouTube. Retrieved March 30, 2023, from https://youtu.be/_uz5BcMzqZs.

Universal design is not only equitable, but these essential mechanisms demonstrate a concurrent set of positive, progressive and reactive realities reinforcing what our world has to offer.

The core values that universal design contribute to are a wide range of opportunities, supporting an array of individuals through a lens of flexibility. One of universal designs greatest qualities under an engineering outlook is that this system reimagines spaces and becomes a multifaceted tool for a wide range of individuals.

For example, the sliding doors we see today are mechanical devices that can be located across the globe. This device has become one of many universal designs that has helped more than a select few. Those who have impairments or disabilities surrounding sight and mobility may have been at one time the central focus on this design, however this mechanism now supports anyone and everyone. Universal design’s like this are not just a mechanism, rather it is an approach of reimagining a fixed reality into a solution. Having the ability to actively influence and demand alternative ways, impacting individuals perceptions of the globe and others around them.

Mechanisms like the mechanical sliding doors are great examples of what learning and theory can do for us today. This example of universal design not only demonstrates the qualities of critical thinking, but it also endorses individuals to move towards more inclusive ways of thinking and being. Universal design implements a level of equity into learning that is extremely important as it builds qualities of representation, action, expression, engagement, empathy, and creativity. Looking through a historical lens we can see how ideas surrounding gender, race, and sexuality have continued to change. As we prepare each student and learner into a world that has endless possibilities at their fingertips through technology, it is vitally important to demonstrate the significance in shaping them to be inclusive, kind and critical individuals. Furthermore, universal design when applied in the classroom, wether this be demonstrated through learning American Sign Language (ASL), using technology to translate languages or support neuro-divergent students, needs through adapted school projects and lessons, each and every individual will benefit from these practices as it shapes them into critical consumers who understand and can adapt to real world scenarios.

Bibliography

_{Automatic Sliding Door.” IndiaMART. Accessed March 3, 2023. https://m.indiamart.com/proddetail/automatic-sliding-door-9706062148.html.}

^{Schwartz, Sarah. “White Characters Still Dominate Kids’ Books and School Texts, Report Finds.” Education Week. Education Week, December 1, 2021. https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/white-characters-still-dominate-kids-books-and-school-texts-report-finds/2021/12.}

^{“10 Things to Know about Ud.” Centre for Excellence in Universal Design. Accessed March 3, 2023. https://universaldesign.ie/what-is-universal-design/the-10-things-to-know-about-ud/.}

^{Uskov, Vladimir L, Robert J Howlett, and Lakhmi C Jain. “Making Your Classroom Smart: Universal Design for Learning and Technology.” In Smart Education and E-Learning 2019, 144:501–510. Singapore: Springer Singapore Pte. Limited, 2019.}

Month: March 2023

Teaching Children About Racism

Universal Design

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